This invention relates to methods and apparatus for making carpet repairs.
It relates particularly to a carpet repair tool and to a carpet repair disk and to related methods of using the carpet repair tool and the carpet repair disk.
Small sections of the carpet are often damaged by burns, tears and the like. Since the damaged areas of carpets are usually confined to relatively small cross-sectional areas, it is often feasible to cut out the damaged area and to make a patch with a replacement plug that is cut to fit the cut out opening.
In order to retain a satisfactory appearance of the carpet, the damaged area must be cut out with precision, and a precisely matched patching plug must be fitted within the opening cut out in the original carpet. A need therefore exists for a tool device which can be used by unskilled people to make a precision cut out.
Current methods for making carpet repairs require skilled and trained people to do a satisfactory repair job, and the cost to the public is therefore high. While a number of self-contained cutters are on the market, these prior art cutters have been found to be awkward and have not been readily adapted to precision cutting, particularly if the cutters are removed from position before the cut is finished.
For example, one cutter which is presently commercially available employs a 360.degree. scalloped cutting edge and is heavy and awkward to use. Another prior art cutter is a lightweight hollow plastic cutter (of the general kind illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,346 to Snyder) and has a single razor-type blade which extends downward through a flat bottom surface of the cutter at a location which is offset inwardly from the outer circular side of the cutter.